![]() Threat and danger signals may include real threats such as possible assault or physical harm, but they can also be as simple as humming fluorescent lights, the whir of a fan, or the popping sound coming from a car engine, causing individuals to automatically feel unsafe. A fawn response is often associated with abusive relationships and traumatic interpersonal experiences. In humans, freeze reactions may include psychological dissociation. If it is not possible to escape or fight, the limbic system then engages the parasympathetic nervous system to initiate a freeze or collapse response in the body, resulting in immobilization, restricted breathing, and decreased metabolism. This means that the mid-brain goes on high alert and signals the sympathetic nervous system to release chemicals to prepare the body for fight or flight. We can be in relationships as adults where we learn to appease another person as a way of protecting ourselves too. One widely accepted concept is that the thinking brain (neo-cortex) is often automatically dominated by the mid-brain (in particular, the amygdala) during moments of fear. The fawn trauma response does not have to originate with childhood trauma from a caregiver. Your heightened reactive experiences as a result of surviving repeated or complex trauma also get ingrained in your nervous system: Your fight, flight, freeze. ![]() Trauma specialists define these reactions as neurobiological responses to threat. Responses to danger are physiological reactions traditionally known as fight, flight and freeze (sometimes called collapse) (Cannon, 1932). Source: © 2020 Courtesy of Cathy Malchiodi, PhD ![]()
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